MANCHESTER City are on the verge of announcing a big hitter as their successor to the sacked Joe Royle.

MANCHESTER City are on the verge of announcing a big hitter as their successor to the sacked Joe Royle.

The Maine Road will gather for its regular monthly meeting today with the name of the new man firmly at the top of the agenda.

They have already had more than 20 applications for the job that came free on Monday morning, nearly one-third of which are from abroad.

However, City are unlikely to take the risk involved with a foreign coach unproven in this country. Publicly they are saying nothing about the man in their sights but it is clear they seeking a manager of a certain 'heavyweight' stature.

While the directors acknowledge the outstanding successes of French duo Arsene Wenger and Gerard Houllier, they are also aware of the unhappy times Christian Gross had at Spurs and the furore that has surrounded Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea this season.

fans support for Keegan

The supporters are certainly thinking British with Kevin Keegan rapidly emerging as the fans' firm favourite to take over the managerial reins.

On the day it was made clear that fellow top contender Mick McCarthy would not be given permission to talk to the Blues, former England boss Keegan galloped away from the pack in a specially commissioned poll on City's own website.

By this morning Keegan had attracted 42 per cent of all the votes, more than double those for ex-City defender McCarthy and treble those for third placed George Graham.

West Ham's recently departed boss Harry Redknapp led the also rans despite publicly stating he had no desire at all to come to Maine Road.

A flood of money at local Bookmakers Fred Done saw McCarthy's price slashed from 8-1 to 10-3 in the space of 48 hours prompting the Yorkshireman's employers, the Football Association of Ireland to issue a hands off warning to City's top brass.

warning

"I cannot see how he could possibly think of going when the Republic team is top of the qualifying group and has a great chance of reaching the finals," said FAI spokesman Pat Quigley making it clear that McCarthy would have to walk out on his present job if he wanted to talk to the Blues.

George Graham, meanwhile, has not ruled himself in or out of the running should Keegan not fancy a return.

"It would be nice to think that for my next job that I would be joining a club that had the ambition I have got," he said.

"I want to go to a club that is ambitious and has a chance of winning things. If that is on the table then I would be interested in any club."

City's First Division status could count against them on that front and 56-year-old Graham has previously turned down the job prior to Royle's appointment.

He is also believed to want to stay in London, although he lived in Manchester when playing for United in the 1970s.